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We have calculated the global distribution of atmospheric neutrons and their products by a Monte Carlo simulation of nucleon transport, in the internuclear cascade followed by neutron transport below 19 Mev. First, we present the results generated by monoenergetic primary protons and alpha particles entering the top of the atmosphere. Second, the kernels derived from the monoenergetic cases are used to determine the spatial and energy distributions of neutrons and their products from the protons and alpha particles in the cosmic radiation; solar modulation effects are included. The calculation is compared, in the 1‐ to 10‐Mev region, with the results of our fast neutron experiment; the agreement is within the uncertainties of the primary spectrum and of the experimental results over most of the atmosphere. The calculation is then normalized to the experiment in the fast neutron region. The results of the normalized calculation include the steady state neutron spectrum, the neutron production rates, the radiocarbon production rates, the neutron leakage rates from the top of the atmosphere, and the production rates of other nuclides. The normalized calculation reproduces experimentally observed slow neutron densities and the observed neutron flux and spectrum above 1 kev, and it predicts features of the atmospheric neutron morphology not yet observed. The points of agreement and divergence with earlier calculations are discussed, including the radiocarbon production rates and the neutron leakage rates during solar cycle 20, which is near the mean of the last 10 solar cycles.

The time dependent worldwide distribution of atmospheric fast neutrons has been determined in balloon and aircraft measurements from 1964 to 1971. The 1‐ to 10‐Mev neutron spectrum was measured with a phoswich detector employing seven channels of pulse height analysis. Solar modulation effects were greatest near the high‐latitude transition maximum, where the flux varied by more than a factor of 2 from solar minimum to the deepest Forbush decrease. Near solar maximum and during Forbush decreases the relation between the neutron flux in the upper atmosphere and the counting rate of the Deep River neutron monitor deviated from a single‐valued function. The differential neutron spectrum between 1 and 10 Mev can be represented, within the resolution of the detector, by a power law N(E) = AE−n, where n = 1.17−0.20+0.12 near the transition maximum, n = 1.08−0.20+0.13 at 3‐ to 5‐g/cm² atmospheric depth, and n at sea level is larger than these values and dependent on terrain. The spectral index remains the same to ±0.1 over the solar cycle at fast neutron energies. The fast neutron data are self‐consistent to ±7% from 2 to 300 g/cm² over the range of cutoff rigidity and solar cycle variations. The characteristics of the fast neutrons as outlined here serve as a basis for checking a Monte Carlo calculation of the entire neutron distribution and its products.

During solar particle events from 1968 to 1971 we observed increases in the fast neutron flux at high latitude and at 55‐ to 75‐g/cm² atmospheric depth. The increases correlated with the variations in the solar proton fluxes; the neutron yield per incident proton, above threshold, increased by a factor of 100 with increasing hardness of the proton spectrum. Within a factor of 2 the neutron specific yield fell on a smooth curve versus the spectral parameter P0, where the values of P0 were based on the SPME (solar proton monitor experiment) data from Explorer 34 and 41. The neutron yield from solar particle events was calculated from a Monte Carlo simulation of neutron production and transport in the atmosphere. We compare the observed fast neutron flux with that calculated using the solar proton spectra reported at the times of the measurements; the causes for variation among the reported proton spectra and between the calculated and the observed fast neutron flux are discussed. The calculation reproduced the results of experiments by others with moderated slow neutron counters in and above the atmosphere. We calculate that the contribution of solar particle fluxes to the production rates of neutrons, to the production rates of radiocarbon, and to the leakage rates of neutrons from the top of the atmosphere are 2–3 orders of magnitude below the galactic cosmic ray contribution during solar cycle 20.

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